Kelly O’Neill takes the imaware™ at-home RA Test

Accepting the invitation to test imaware™

After meeting Jani from imaware™ and learning more about their mission, I agreed to take their test and give feedback. Both my daughters and I each took the imaware™ at-home RA test. We walked through every part of the process—just like anyone else would when they purchase the test online. I wanted to learn first hand just how it worked.

Of course I already knew that I have RA! And my RA-related blood test results have all been very high for many years. But I wanted to find out exactly how it worked: Would it be too hard with my hands? Would the test be too complicated? And would the test report seem useful?

Would you believe I’d never pricked my own finger before? After I watched the animated video instructions, the one thing I wished I had was a video of another person taking the test. Then my younger daughter told me over the phone, “Momma, it’s great! The only thing that would be better is a video with you doing the test.”

Taking the Test

Within a couple of weeks, there I was with the camera, a test kit, and no script—taking the test as you see me in the video below! I thought of everything I learned from doing the test myself a couple of times and took in whatever little tips my daughters mentioned to me.

First, I washed my hands with warm water because the heat will help the blood in your fingers flow more easily. Then, I sterilized my fingertip with the alcohol pad in the kit.

First, I washed my hands with warm water because the heat will help the blood in your fingers flow more easily. Then, I sterilized my fingertip with the alcohol pad in the kit.

Next, I twisted the thin purple cap on one of the lancets provided, and pulled it off. As you’ll see, I pressed the plastic against my finger and clicked the big purple button.

Finally, I gently massaged my finger to collect a few drops of blood into the little vial—up to the “100” line. I put the vial back into the box and mailed it back to imaware™ in the envelope provided.

By the magic of video, you can watch me actually open my results for the very first time! I had already read my daughters’ by the magic of screenshots they’ve sent me. I found my RA test report very easy to read and very clear. Next time, we can talk more about that.

I hope it will be easier for you to do the imaware™ test yourself after watching me go through the simple process in just a couple of minutes even with my RA-damaged hands.

Published by Kelly O'Neill

Kelly O’Neill hails from Florida, where she heads up her groundbreaking website and community, RAwarrior.com. Well known for her ability to share insights on the patient journey while challenging the status quo, she has written a best-selling book and over 1,000 articles on RA and healthcare, and made numerous contributions to research, government, and industry.
Kelly founded the first U.S. non-profit for RA and established February 2nd as Rheumatoid Awareness Day. She has fought unrelenting rheumatoid disease since 2006. A mother of five, NASA enthusiast, and NFL fan, she is always passionate about helping people be better informed and have a greater voice in their healthcare.
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